The present invention relates to a portable hoist system; more particularly the portable hoist system of the present invention relates to a lifting hoist which may be used on the top of a building, in the cargo space of a vehicle, or on any other application where a light weight portable hoist usable by an individual is required.
In many small to medium sized buildings, air conditioning units for the building are located on the roof. Typically these air conditioning units weigh between 150 and 200 pounds. When it is necessary to change the air conditioning unit or remove it for repair, it is often necessary for the owner of the building to hire a crane service or possibly a helicopter service to lift the air conditioning unit from the roof and then place it on the ground or unto a truck. Alternatively, smaller air conditioning units may be manually lifted from the top of the building, carried over to a ladder resting alongside the building and then slid down the ladder to the ground or to an awaiting truck.
In other situations it is often necessary for owners of pickup trucks to place a load in a cargo space such as the bed of the truckxe2x80x94which load is not easily lifted manually by one or two people. One solution to this problem has been the creation of hydraulic systems which raise and lower a platform from ground level to the level of the truck bed. While first used on large commercial vehicles, these lifts have become smaller over the years and are now sized to be used on pickup trucks and large vans. One manufacturer of these hydraulic liftgates sells them under the brand TommyLift(trademark). While hydraulic liftgates enable the lifting of heavy loads, such systems are expensive and complex, as they include not only a mechanical system of arms and levers, but the hydraulics needed to provide the lifting power and an electrical system to control the operation of the hydraulic lifting system. Accordingly, a hydraulic liftgate system is typically too expensive and too complex for the vehicle owner who does not lift heavy loads on a regular basis. One category of such vehicle owner carries small motorcycles, jet skis or four-wheelers in the bed of their trucks. If help is not available, it is all but impossible for a single individual to unload a motorcycle, a jet ski, or a four-wheeler from the bed of a pickup truck.
A similar situation occurs with the use of an automobile. Oftentimes it may be necessary for the owner of an automobile to load heavy cargo into the trunk. But unlike hydraulic liftgates for trucks, there are no hydraulic systems available for automobiles which facilitate placing a load into the trunk of an automobile.
Small power boat owners also encounter lifting problems with outboard motors or inboard motors. Sailboat owners may experience lifting problems with heavy center boards, mast, booms, or rigging.
Many people who occasionally haul heavy cargo with an automobile or a truck find it handy to load the cargo onto a trailer and then tow the trailer to their destination. But the problem remains of loading and unloading heavy cargo from the trailer.
In the bed of pickup trucks, in the trunks of automobiles, on trailers, in the back of vans, in boats, and on the tops of small buildings, it is not practical or economical to mount a permanent hoist for the lifting of loads. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a portable hoist system which may be easily installed on the top of a building, in the bed of a truck, in the trunk of an automobile, in the back of a van, in boats, on a trailer, and in other similar applications and which is light-weight, easily assembled, inexpensive, may be easily moved from place to place by one person, thereby providing an individual with the ability to lift loads generally requiring more than one person to properly manage.
The portable hoist system of the present invention is a light-weight, easily assembled, inexpensive system which may be easily moved from place to place by one person, thus providing an individual with the ability to move loads to or from the roof of a building or to or from the cargo space of a vehicle, a trailer, or any other type transport system.
The portable hoist system of the present invention has a base assembly which includes either a pintle mounted to a plate or a support for a substantially vertical tube. The substantially vertical tube is connected at its top portion to a support arm. The support arm is supported with respect to the substantially vertical tube by an angled brace member. On the top of the support arm is located a cable or strap assembly. The cable or strap assembly includes a windlass and a guide bar or rotating spool.